Nox Floris
by Aurora Light
Summary: What happens in Harry's fifth year? Throw in Voldemort, Death Eaters in-training, some extraordinary neighbors, and the result......


Disclaimer: Harry Potter, the Dursleys, Voldemort etc. are not my, they belong to J.K. Rowling. However, Amber Parks, and Renea Parks are mine! :)  
  
Prologue  
How it started  
  
"Harry Potter the Great, the-boy-who-lived, my foot, I'm going to die of exhaustion out here." Harry Potter, three-time conqueror of the Dark Lord, was once again, doing yard work for his magic-hating relatives, the Dursleys.  
His efforts were interrupted by the appearance of two hands at the top of the brick fence that marked the border between the houses. Then, he was further interrupted by the owner of the two hands flipping across the wall, and landing face down on the ground directly in front of him.  
"Oww...." was the mystery person's only response at his attempts to see if he was hurt. After a couple minutes spent poking and prodding, he sat up. Harry was forced to quickly reevaluate his opinion of this stranger. It was a she, not a he; and she was more than a little, well, weird. She had short hair that earlier had been in pigtails, currently it was frizzed out so that she resembled a blonde brillo pad; in addition she wore a pair of scruffy shorts, and a tie-died shirt.  
His observations of this strange girl were cut short by her question. "Who are you?"  
"I'm Harry Potter. I live with my Aunt Petunia's family." He answered when he found his voice.  
The girl's face twisted in to an unusual expression showing both skepticism and pity. "You live with them?" She waved her hand toward the house, looking as though she would die on the spot if she even came near the Dursleys. "As for you being Harry Potter," There was a pause, while she leaned in, giving him a good look; "You're definitely dorky enough."  
Harry was speechless, he had been called many things, but dorky had never been one of them. Finally he recovered enough to throw her own words back at her, "Who are you?"  
"I'm Amber Parks, my family and I just moved in a week ago, surely you know that. My little brother is going to Hogwarts this year.  
This casual mention of Hogwarts once again threw Harry into a state of shock. "Y, Your brother is going to H, Hogwarts? Do you go? I've never seen you there."  
The girl, now identified as Amber, shrugged flippantly, "Me? I don't go to Hogwarts. My family is, well...Why don't you come over to my house and meet them? They would love to see you. We don't know anyone here, so it would be nice to talk to someone." This was all pronounced in one breath, and the sudden information was only making Harry more confused.  
He goggled at her for a moment, then got his wits together, "Speak slowly, and use small words, I'm really confused. Your family is magical? Your brother is going to Hogwarts, you're not, and what on earth are you doing in Privet Drive? I thought this was home of the Most Boring Muggles on Earth Award."  
Now the girl was laughing, "Come on over to my house, I'll explain." With that, she grabbed his hand, dragged him over to the wall, and vaulted over.  
Harry couldn't think of a good reason not to hop over the fence and investigate this most unusual development on Privet Drive. He briefly wondered if this was a particularly harebrained scheme that Voldemort had thought up, then dismissed the idea, since when had the Dark Lord been this obvious?  
  
Chapter 1  
Explanations  
  
With a mental shrug, he jumped over the brick divider, to take up this Amber's offer to meet her family. As he walked in the back door of Number 6 Privet Drive, he quickly decided that he was going to like the Parks family.  
Creeping vines covered the kitchen walls in a mass of leafy green, various windchimes and kites fluttered in the breeze let in by the open windows and what walls weren't covered by plants or magical paintings were sheathed by mirrors. In short, it looked like Flourish and Blotts met a greenhouse. Harry loved it.  
He was clapped on the back by a man who was most certainly Amber's father, as he had the same short slim build, and blue eyes; "Hello, you must be one of the neighbors. Do come in for tea."  
Dumbly, Harry followed him into the sitting room. The sight that meet his eyes was rather out of place on Privet Drive. In front of the fireplace, a girl sat, staring into blue flames; a women of about thirty was repairing a large tapestry that look as if it was trying to crawl out of her grasp. And most surprising of all, a ten year old boy was charming his glass of milk to stand up side down.  
The women stood, and bowed slightly to Harry, turned, and addressed the boy, "Andrew, have you no manners? Come and greet our guest."  
Eyes as big as plates, he ran up to Harry, " 'ey, you must be Harry Potter, I know all about you. How you defeated You-Know-Who, and, and...."  
The girl rose from in front of the fire, and rolled her eyes at Andrew, "Hey, Andy, why don't you go and work on the switching spells? Last time I saw it, the cat looked somewhat eager to get its own ears back."  
Harry hid a laugh, remembering his first year, and a disastrous incident involving Neville Longbottom and a cactus.  
The other girl strolled up to Amber, and winked at her, "Fishing for guys so soon? I understand that Dudley Dursley in quite a hunk."  
Gagging, Amber smacked girl, who, by the looks of it, was her best friend, " Dudley Dursley? That giant blob of, of...!"  
Mrs. Parks steered him into the kitchen, and away from the two bickering girls.  
She smiled, and began to explain his any questions; "I apologize for any confusion that Amber and Renea may have caused you. They are chaotic girls, but they mean well."  
"Oh, their fine, but I was wondering about something....?"  
"Please, feel free to speak your mind in this house."  
"You're obviously not a Muggle family, but Amber isn't going to Hogwarts, and she wouldn't tell me why. However, she did say that you could explain. Is she a Squib?"  
"In a way. We are Gypsies for the most part, not entirely magical, but certainly not Muggle. She is strong enough to create potions, and divine the future, but she cannot wield a wand. In a way I am glad of that, as I would hate to see how the Ministry would handle Amber Parks running around with a wand."  
Harry secretly agreed with Mrs. Parks. In the short time he had known Amber, he concluded that she wasn't the safest person to be around. An earth-rocking explosion from the room they had just exited confirmed his suspicions.  
  
  
Author's Note:   
I will go more into Renea and Amber's relationship in later chapters as well as explains some things I left hanging. Just so you know, this takes place in Harry's fifth year.  
I totally live for reviews, and would appreciate it if you give you opinion on this poem.  
One more thing, I am looking for a beta-reader to give me a hand wading though the swamp of junk I call writing. If you're interested, would you leave your e-mail address in your review, and I will respond ASAP.  
  
Thanx! :O)  
  
*~~*~~*  
Aurora Light  
  
  



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